Biola University recognizes that a desire for career growth and other needs may lead an employee to apply for transfer to another position. When that position is in another department, the university will exercise special care to consider the needs and interests of both the employee and the organization, in granting approval to pursue the position.

Employee Responsibility

Employees may be considered for transfer to another suitable position, provided that job qualifications and previous Biola work experience are satisfactory, and provided that a transfer does not occur within one year of date of hire or of any previous transfer. An exception to the one-year-limit could result from the special circumstances surrounding a transfer to fill a critical position with a uniquely qualified employee.

An employee should determine his/her interest level and suitability for the open position. This can be accomplished by downloading a job description from the employment website and meeting briefly with the hiring department supervisor. The employee should bring a current résumé to the hiring department supervisor for this exploratory discussion.

If the hiring supervisor wishes to move the employee forward in the application process, then the employee must complete a Transfer Request Form and turn it in to Human Resources in order for the application to be sent to the hiring department and before interviews can take place with the hiring department. Additionally, this will allow the employee to be paid for the interview during normal work hours.

Employees may be required to be tested or retested on applicable employment tests or to provide a current résumé or other information.

Current Department Responsibility

If it is suspected that a departmental problem or other condition may be the main factor behind the employee's interest in a transfer, the supervisor should determine whether any changes could be made that would encourage the employee to reconsider his/her interest in another position.

In signing the Transfer Request Form, supervisors are granting the employee permission to formally interview for another position. There may, however, be an instance where the timing of a transfer would violate an earlier understanding between the supervisor and employee or may, apart from any understanding, be extremely detrimental to the department. In such cases, the supervisor may wish to discuss this with the hiring supervisor and/or the Employment Recruiter.

The current supervisor should be contacted as a reference by the department head in the department with the job opening. The hiring supervisor may also view the most recent performance review of the current employee who is applying for a position. While Biola policy does not allow supervisors to give reference information to outside employers, Biola does approve and encourage communication between departments when employment decisions affecting both departments are involved.

New Department Responsibility

A department may provide job information to an interested employee, once a position has been formally opened by the submission of a completed Job Requisition Form to Human Resources. A department should, however, grant a formal interview to an employee, only when the employee has submitted an approved Transfer Request to Human Resources.

The timing of a transfer should be decided by discussion between the current department and new department. The current department's needs, however, will ultimately weigh more heavily than the new department's, since it is suffering the inconvenience of giving up a worker to another department. A reasonable amount of "notice," generally not to exceed four weeks, can be expected by the current department.

Unused, accrued vacation leave moves with the employee who transfers to a new department. Unused vacation leave is not forfeited, nor can it be paid out in cash as the result of a transfer.